This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/688,884 filed Jun. 9, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to body armor and to a closure mechanism for use in body armor, and, particularly, to body armor for the torso including a self-adjusting side closure mechanism.
Concealable body armor for protection from, for example, edged weapons, sharp objects and ballistic threats, has been available for several decades. Since the introduction of concealable body armor, ballistic materials have been improved greatly, resulting in relatively soft or pliant body armor and increased comfort for the user. Modern concealable body armor often includes ballistic panels or packages formed from DuPont's KEVLAR® ballistic grade fibers/fabrics.
Various closure systems have been developed for body armor including, for example, zippers and hook-and-loop type fastening systems (for example, VELCRO® available from Velcro Industries B.V.). In the case of closure systems for use in body armor it is desirable to have ballistic paneling cover or underlie the closure mechanism to prevent injury in the area of the body over which the closure mechanism is located. A side closure can be desirable to provide increased safety. In that regard, a person wearing body armor will typically be facing an assailant during an attack. Thus, impact of a dangerous object such as a bullet with the side of the wearer is less likely than impact of the object with the front of the wearer. As compared to a front closure mechanism, a side closure mechanism can thus reduce the likelihood of an object such as a bullet passing through the protection of the body armor in the area of the closure mechanism.
In the case of a side closure mechanism including overlapping ballistic paneling, it is desirable that a portion of a front ballistic panel overlap a portion of a back ballistic panel in the region of the side closure. In that regard, there have been cases with a back-to-front overlap in which a bullet has passed into the interior of the body armor by entering the body armor at the end point of the overlap. Once again, a person wearing body armor is most likely to be facing an assailant and any potential entry point for a projectile approaching the person from the front of the person is preferably eliminated. Although a front-to-back overlap may be desirable, a front-to-back overlap is difficult to achieve in practice. In that regard, it is very difficult for a wearer of body armor (for example, a vest) to achieve an effective front-to-back overlap while wearing the body armor. It is much easier for a wearer of body armor to achieve a back-to-front overlap.
It is desirable to develop improved body armor and closure mechanisms for use in body armor that reduce or eliminate the above-identified and other problems associated with currently available body armor and closure mechanisms therefor.